BEST SUNDAY HAT PUBLICATIONS©
Newsletters and Naîve Short Stories.
Saturday, April 13, 2024
Learning to Deal With ....... (Introduction)
We should never stop learning -
although some lessons can certainly trip us up!
I’m an ordinary person - I don’t have a Degree in Psychology or a Diploma in Human Behaviour, but I do have life-experience. Lots of experience. I’m not an expert with answers to all the world’s problems, let alone another person’s, but I have gained answers to many of my own problems. Perhaps the answers I have found that helped me, will in turn, help you.
INTRODUCTION
Women finding themselves in situations outside of their previous experience and life-style have, understandably, moments of great apprehension and hesitancy; moments of serious self-doubt; moments of fear, intermingled with dreams and hopes of unfulfilled ambitions and aspirations.
As a woman grows older, she finds her ability to rise from embattled experiences that have worn down not only her physical and emotional energy but her belief in herself, becomes almost an impossibility. She becomes more debilitated and with all that past experience she may feel embittered and no longer able to cope with the changes that have now beset and surrounded her.
She feels completely out of control. She feels as though she is no longer important to anyone, let alone herself, and she feels alone and abandoned.
But there are tremendous possibilities ahead of her; challenges and goals to achieve. All it takes is time to seriously consider what she wants, what she needs, and how badly she wants those wants, and how she will successfully meet those needs.
While “Learning to Deal with ...” covers a number of subjects, one subject above all receives a lot of focus. That is low self-esteem. It is essential that no woman measures her self-esteem by her appearance or her size.
Because without a sense of worth, and the confidence to make an impact upon her future life, the struggle to overcome and rise above “happenings” that have already occurred, will be even more difficult.
“Learning to Deal with ...” is like a patchwork quilt - it goes from one subject to another and then back again, allowing the reader to flow with the subjects undertaken, but will allow her to gain further insights into other subjects as she goes through the booklet. I’ve taken this route, because in my journeys of self-discovery I’ve wanted to gain as much as I can from every little snippet I read.
So my question is why should a woman have to face her problems alone? Answer: She shouldn’t.
This is why “Learning to Deal with ...” presents lots of hints and suggestions and strategies with which every woman, regardless of age, size and shape, can confidently face the future and gain her own sense of self and worth.
I dedicate this book to all those women
who have journeyed with me through the years
and those who will accept my hand
in friendship in future days.
❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
“Learning to Deal With ….” First published in Australia 2005 reprinted 2024
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or via any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, USB, printing or otherwise without the prior permission of the author.
Text ©2005/reprinted © 2024 Rosemary Parry-Brock Davidson
Disclaimer:
Information contained in this book is based purely on personal views, opinions, experiences and observations. Matters dealing with health (physical as well as emotional) should be discussed with your own medical practitioner. This book forms part of the concept of RoseMary’s NoteBook© which includes a series of newsletters and other booklets & publications including motivational short courses, for women of all ages and all shapes and sizes. RoseMary’s NoteBook© continues to break down antiquated attitudes about age and size and inspires women to look at themselves from a different perspective - from that of being “old” and/or “plus size” or “too small” or even a “no-hoper” to being a feminine and unique woman, filled with on-going beauty.
Friday, November 4, 2022
Ageing Outrageously - Keeping Focus
Let's start off with the obvious. A woman goes through many phases as she grows from childhood through to a teenager, an adult and then an older woman. These changes influence & impact upon her life at all those particular points in time and travel with her into the future, sometimes bringing with them emotional reminders, both good and bad. These she either confronts & deals with or carries as baggage.
But for the majority of us all the "seasons" of womanhood are exciting, filled with promise and challenges plus a few pitfalls which we manage to struggle through and rise above when it's difficult but which we mainly sail happily through.
Then one day the face in the mirror that looks back at us, is unrecognisable. Experience, joys, hardship, worry, anxiety, the ups and downs of surviving in a world that may present hurdles and difficulties, show in our face and in our body. Gravity wears away at our looks and figures, and for some reason our mind undergoes a similar change. Not always for the better I might add. Yet it forms the opinion that the person in the mirror no longer deserves to be pampered or bothered about. Even as far as saying that the person no longer deserves respect.
With that decision, many subtle and not so subtle changes become habit. We take less care of our complexions, our hair, our hands and feet. We take less trouble in choosing clothing. Anything that fits (whether it suits us or not) will do! Many women even give up on their favourite past-times or leisure pursuits, including hobbies, and "retire". When I think about it, and I decided not to think about it too often a long time ago, "retire" is such a negative word! It's really not worth my attention, because by definition it means, to sit in a corner and rusticate! Isn't it better to "rest" (rather than "rust") when we need to, and to bustle around doing things when we choose to? As so often happens when a woman "retires" she loses her sense of being important, if not to others, then quite often to herself. Silly, isn't it?
And what happens is that women too often no longer see themselves as intelligent, articulate women deserving of having their opinions heard and respected. We also forget, far TOO often, that we are still sensual beings.
Is it wrong for us to "want" to wear makeup, to dress nicely, do things we want to do, go where we want to go, travel, undertake courses at TAFE or university, even?
Why not buy a new car, leave a failed and/or broken relationship, especially if that relationship has become violent and uncaring? Even, dare I say it, to take a lover?
Don't get me wrong - I have strong principles and ethics that direct my personal standards, but life is short, and it needs to be treated with the utmost respect, humility and affection.
Affection for life? Of course. It's a wonderful and unique thing - life. You can't make it, you can't copy it, you can't replace it. It's a gift to you and I believe, passionately, that because it is a gift, it should be treated with gentleness and total and unconditional love and respect.
To be continued .....
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
"ROSE IN BLOOM"
The time has come the walrus said, "to speak of many things."
It's been years since I went through my files having decided to update a few of my small booklets dealing with all sorts of things, but mainly self-esteem for the plus-size woman. In the years since I began "RoseMary's NoteBook"© back in 1991, things have changed. Fashion shops opened, and a number concentrated on supplying a range of casual as well as conservative/office/classic/original/imaginative garments for not only all sizes, but aimed especially for the size 16 plus. Which reinforced and justified my endeavours from the early 1990s for women of size, to be recognised as worthy of attention, as well as courtesy and respect. So we enjoyed being able to shop and more importantly to purchase both instore as well as on-line beautiful garments for everyday wear, as well as evening and more formal.
However, throughout life we can sometimes become blinded by the fact that when things seem too good to be true, somethig happens or comes along, that bring us forcibly to the realisation we can take things for granted too often, and life changes overnight. As the old saying goes, we fall on our faces. Such has been the case here in 2020, when the Coronavirus Pandemic appeared throughout the world.